Retrospect
by StrandedSeraphim
Summary: Determined to uncover the secrets of her birth and the true nature of her parents' relationship, Sarada finds frustration in her mother's refusal to answer her questions. Discovering the existence of a time machine, Sarada goes back in time to see for herself. But the machine malfunctions, taking her farther in the past... in the company of certain familiar genins. Naruto Gaiden AU
1. Chapter One

Originally wrote this November of 2015 but decided I wasn't happy with the quality of writing so I rewrote it with much more detail. If you read the original version of this chapter, you might want to read this new version too. (An extra scene not in the previous version is added!) The major change would be the point of view, though. I decided to change the fic to be from Sarada's POV to a 3rd person narrator's. I feel like writing it from Sarada's POV would be restricting and a lot of the scenes I want to write would require a 3rd person narrator.

The entire fic has been planned out, all that's left is for me to actually write the chapters. It's not very long, I'd say about seven chapters at most? I'm not entirely sure yet but I'm guessing each chapter would roughly have 3,000 words. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! I would love to receive feedback as well :)

* * *

RETROSPECT

chapter one

With the academy graduation exams just around the corner, every genin hopefuls in Shino Aburame's class were naturally stressed out. In an attempt to help his students wind up, Shino-sensei decided to schedule the class a tour of the Konohagakure Museum, which had been renovated after the war. Unfortunately for Shino Aburame, his efforts earned little appreciation. Most students weren't so fond of the idea of looking through glass cases with 'stupid' dusty artifacts or 'lame' ancient shinobi weaponry, as Boruto Uzumaki had so eloquently put it. Although the trip had been 'boring' in a nutshell, it _did_ effectively relieve their minds of stress.

All except for Sarada Uchiha.

But the exams were the last thing on her mind. When she'd asked an innocent question of whether her Papa wore glasses, a heated argument between her and her mother was the last thing Sarada would have expected. And her subsequent interrogation of her parents' marital status was certainly not on her list of expectations either. She might have been able to phrase _'are you really his wife'_ a little better, but at that time her mouth had just lost control. Her parents were apparently married but they didn't live together, her father was in who-knew-where-he-could-be, and her mother wasn't sure if her own husband wore glasses! What was she supposed to think? If marriage was based on love, it meant her parents were in love, right? But then why did it seem like they weren't in love at all? Could you be in love with someone who was a million miles away from your side? Could you love him knowing he wouldn't be climbing into the covers with you at night? Could you love him without hearing his voice proclaiming his love for you in the morning when you wake and he wouldn't even be by your side?

Sarada just couldn't comprehend it all. Love... her mother... her father... No matter how hard she tried she could never come to understand it. And to top it all off, Sakura got so angry over her little outburst that she completely wrecked their house down. Now she has to endure half a day in some museum while Shizune looked after her mother since she fell unconscious.

"Are you alright, Sarada?"

Realizing she'd been spacing out, Sarada broke out of thought as her head snapped up to find her eyes meeting Chōchō Akimichi's.

"You look a little pale," she observed, her dark-toned body and round physique leaning forward with her hands placed on her hips, eyeing the young Uchiha rather inconspicuously.

"Did you forget to eat breakfast or something?"

"I didn't," Sarada dully replied as she turned her head away. "It's nothing."

"Hey, you two!"

Sarada and Chōchō looked behind them to find Shino, his fist clutching Boruto's jacket firmly while the little blond continued to protest. Sarada was sure, he must have separated from the class on purpose… for who knew what. Probably to get away from the darn place. She couldn't really blame him with that.

"You two better not be trying to sneak off too," Shino warned.

"Of course not, Shino-sensei!" Chōchō exclaimed in all defense. "Sarada here was just feeling a little bit hungry is all!"

"Sure it was _Sarada,_ Chōchō?" Boruto teased, wearing a playful smirk. He'd given up trying to break free from Shino's grip and had stopped paying it any more attention.

Chōchō placed her hands on her hips. "I'll have you know, I'm on a diet!"

Before any more bickering could ensue, Shino sighed and urged his students to follow the rest of the class ahead, lightly threatening to pull them by their collars like Boruto if they separated again.

They caught up with their class in the museum's science section, just as the tour guide explained an odd-looking contraption. It stood at about 4 feet and only contained a control panel with a whole bunch of different buttons and switches. The tour guide held on to her clipboard with one hand and proudly gestured toward the machine with the other.

"This is Konohagakure Museum's most prized possession," she explained. "And is perhaps the most important invention the shinobi world will have ever seen."

"What is it, exactly?" Boruto asked, ever so impatient.

"Why, it's a time machine, dearest son of the hokage-sama," the lady calmly replied with a big smile Sarada found quite unnerving. The young Uchiha got the impression that the smile was rehearsed, perhaps even forced.

The room erupted with ooh's and ah's, though the blond remained unimpressed, only muttering a nonchalant 'huh'.

"Naturally, the machine is still in its prototype stages, otherwise you all would've heard of it already. This here is the first prototype. As for its functionality, well..." She continued, "it has some success going for it but the issue is with its consistency. The prototype has been reported to malfunction multiple times. But the good news is, a second prototype is already being developed!"

The tour guide led the class to the next section enthusiastically with big, animated gestures… much to Boruto's annoyance.

Sarada was aware of her classmates shuffling, lazily dragging their feet and practically forcing themselves to go on with the tour. But for some odd reason, she could not bring herself to move. It was as if her feet had been glued to the floor.

Right in front of her eyes was a time machine. Sarada knew―in fact, it was all that ran in her mind at that moment―the contraption could very well be the answer to all of her questions. She could go back to the day of her birth and watch everything unfold from there. Her _Papa_ would be there, she was sure. Or so she believed he would be. He _was_ there, wasn't he?

The new question only fueled Sarada's need for answers. She had to know. She just had to! It was the only way. But…

… how did the thing even work?

"Hey, Sarada."

The girl jumped. She thought she'd been alone.

"Boruto?"

"You know I don't give a crap if it's me but with you I'm not so sure." Sarada makes a short sound of confusion. Boruto continued, "You heard sensei."

He said it so plainly, with bored eyes aimed at the machine towering in front of them, his hands lazily cradling the back of his neck. He was always so… weird. He could have just told her to 'get her butt moving' in his usual eloquent fashion, but instead he just had to make it _sooo_ confusing.

She made a mental note to add Boruto to the puzzles she needed to figure out. But a little trip to the past probably wouldn't be the key to the answer. _Just great,_ Sarada thought.

* * *

"Sarada-chan…"

She turned her head to face Shizune, her mother's caretaker for the day. Sarada had gone straight to Shizune's apartment home as soon as the field trip had concluded. It must have been hours since she settled on the couch in the living room and contemplated her plan for the evening.

"You should rest now. Your mama wouldn't want you staying up late." She said in a gentle voice, as if she was approaching an injured little puppy out on the streets.

 _My mama,_ she repeated to herself. _Is she really my mama?_

Shizune noticed the sadness the young Uchiha showed on her face. The medical-nin's own expression dropped to an apologetic stare before plastering a reassuring smile, albeit a forced one.

"No need to worry," she told the girl.

Sarada understood Shizune had been referring to her mother's condition. She had thought she was worrying about it. She supposed she was too, but Sarada knew all of her mother's adventures like the back of her hand. If she had survived those, she would survive anything. She was not concerning herself much with her mother's health. She would be fine, Sarada was sure of it. What bothered her―and what has been bothering her for a very long time now―was the mystery of her birth and her parents' love.

"Umm…" Sarada began hesitantly. "I have something to ask you, Shizune-san, but please don't tell Mama."

Shizune nodded carefully, wondering what the young Uchiha would want to keep a secret from her mother―and if she would indeed be able to keep it from Sakura. Sarada sensed her uncertainty. She doubted the Fifth Hokage's right-hand woman could actually keep a secret from her master's former apprentice. She bit her lip. _Should I ask Shizune-san?_

For a moment, Sarada contemplated whether she should trust the medical-nin or not. She looked into her dark ebony eyes, searching for a sparkle that would reassure her. Shizune returned her stare, and Sarada watched her expression shift from confusion to something that looked like sympathy. _No._ She would not pity her.

In that brief moment of silence, Sarada was a gun patiently waiting to be loaded―the bullets being everything that she wanted to know. And that look―the look of sympathy that she so despised being the recipient of―was her trigger.

Sarada, the gun, finally fired.

"Please tell me everything that happened when I was born! Who was there? Who helped with the birth!? Don't leave anything out!"

The use of the word 'please' did little to make Sarada's request sound like a plea. It was a demand. She was fed up, and although she tried to control it all these years, she finally snapped.

Shizune was stunned in shock. Sarada held her determined gaze for the seconds that passed, her breathing rapid and her heartbeat racing. The medical-nin opened and closed her mouth, her eyes searching for something to say. Sarada waited, but it didn't look like she was going to answer her after all.

Sarada scowled. "The medical-nin at the hospital… all of you are the same. I've done some digging myself, so I _know_ there's nothing in any of the hospitals in Konoha about my birth!"

The young Uchiha's revelation upset Shizune. Medical-nin have reported hospital records being broken into. Nothing was stolen, but the file cabinets were left severely disorganized. She was disappointed to discover the culprit to have been Sarada all along.

"But that doesn't―" She began, intending to reprimand the girl for her misdeed but changed her mind. "What started all this!?"

Sarada looked startled, waters forming around her eyes, and Shizune becomes aware that she had raised her voice. She gasped, realizing this, before closing her eyes and calming herself.

She could understand Sarada's curiosity to some level. In her years in the field of medicine, she has ventured a little bit into human psychology as well. Sarada was likely having issues with her identity, Shizune concluded. An absent father and a mother constantly evading her inquiries regarding her birth must have given her the wrong impression. She felt sorry for the girl. She wished she could clarify everything with her but it was not her place to do so, nor did she know _all_ the answers to her questions anyway. Instead, she could only sigh.

"I'm sorry I raised my voice, Sarada-chan," she began softly. "You should go get some rest."

* * *

Interrogating Shizune like that was probably not a good idea, Sarada realized. And the fact that she was letting her spend the night in her bedroom while she slept on the―rather uncomfortable, if Sarada may say so herself―sofa did nothing to lessen her guilt.

But she just had it! No one was telling her anything. She's searched everywhere, asked everyone she could, and yet absolutely _nothing_ came of it. It was as if Rikudō Senin himself were hindering her from knowing the truth.

Or maybe not. After all, she could say it was also he who led her to perhaps the only plausible answer to all of her questions.

She really needed to do it. She had to. It was clearly the only way.

With her resolution strongly intact, Sarada slipped out of the comfort of Shizune's bed and jumped out of the window into the darkness of a Konohagakure spring night.

* * *

Getting past museum security certainly would have been a tougher job for the average kunoichi… but she was Sarada _Uchiha,_ daughter of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno: two of the greatest shinobi of their time. She was most definitely _not_ average.

Her features hidden in a black robe she had found in Shizune's closet, Sarada stealthily made her way into the museum and to the location of the time machine with every bit of intention and determination to use the contraption.

But she is surprised to be welcomed by another youngster definitely above the word 'average'.

"Just as I thought," he said smugly, hands shoved in his pockets and leaning against the wall to the right of the machine. Being the son of the seventh hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyuga of the prestigious Hyuga Clan definitely has its privileges too.

"Boruto?"

The young blond pushes himself off the wall and sends a smirk down the way of the brunette.

"Just as you thought, what, exactly?" She retorted cautiously, unsure of the Uzumaki's intentions.

"You're going to use the time machine." It wasn't even a question.

Sarada urged herself to remain calm and sound nonchalant. "Yeah... so?"

He only held her gaze for a brief moment before shrugging. "Nothing, really; just a fair warning," he says, bored.

"Warning?" She repeated, puzzled. "What for?"

"Are you going to see your dad?"

The question caught the young Uchiha off guard, and she couldn't help the surprise evidently painting her facial expression. _How did he know?_

"I don't know which way you're planning to go, but I do know that at least." He said, and she could only stare back, completely dumbfounded.

"If you're going to the future, then you should keep in mind that it's probably tentative," he explained lazily, even yawning for effect. "If you're going to the past though, you gotta be careful you won't change the continuity."

"How... how did you know?" She finally asked when she figured he had finished.

He merely shrugged, evading the question. "When your dad's the hokage, there isn't exactly much father-son time―" He cut himself off and rushed on, "―it isn't exactly fun. I was just bored."

But Sarada caught it, that momentary start when he realized he had said more than he wanted to. Boruto understood because he longed for the love and attention of his father too. She had first thought that Boruto had been there to catch her in the act, but she understood now that he was actually offering her a hand.

As for why, she wasn't sure. Was it only that he understood her sentiments? Either way, she was not about to shut him out on that.

So she painted a smile on her face.

"I'm counting on you then."

* * *

"So… which way?" Boruto asked as he tinkered with the buttons on the time machine's control panel. His head was dipped, staring down in concentration at numerous buttons of some sort, several blond strands obscuring his eyes.

"Past… a day before I was born." Sarada responded with a hint of nervousness, pausing to regard the deep concentration displayed by the young Uzumaki as she stood on the teleportation pad.

He knew her birthday? He said nothing in return so she supposed that he did, in fact, know. How would he know? Sarada came up with a mental list of reasons Boruto could know. In the academy, Shino-sensei made it a point to greet his students on their birthdays and would make the class sing them the birthday song. Maybe Boruto remembered one of those days because… maybe it happened the same day something important to him happened? Then it would explain why he would remember her birthday easily, wouldn't it?

"I know what I'm doing, okay? I'm not stupid. I stole the manual from that lady's office before you arrived so you don't need to look so worried. It's insulting, y'know."

Sarada broke out of thought, her eyes snapping to the young blond's direction at the sound of his voice… only to find that his attention was still set on the contraption. He had thought she was worried… but wait, did he really put that much thought into this? _For her?_ But, why?

Sarada was startled to feel her right hand being lifted. She attempted to jerk the hand away instinctively, but it was too firm. Her heart raced, and even when she recognized the bright blue eyes gazing at her small, feminine hand, it did not slow down―it might have even gone faster. She found herself drifting back to the world inside her head, contemplating why, why was Boruto acting this way? Why was he helping her? Why was he holding her hand? Why was―

"The thing's called a _lavaliere._ You press the button in the middle to go back to our time. I already set the coordinates, so you don't need to do anything."

It took Sarada several seconds to comprehend what Boruto had said. It took even more seconds to realize he'd held her hand only to pry her fingers open and place a necklace of some sort in her palm. It came with a chain, but the pendant looked like a compass with a cover that you can open like a locket. She pressed the tiny button on its side with her thumb and it opened to reveal a watch with a ruby red hexagonal button at its center.

When she finally looked up, Boruto had gone back to man the controls. Was he moving too fast or was she zoning out too long?

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

She jumped slightly. _Dammit._ She zoned out again. She met his gaze and found it gazing back with skepticism.

"If you want to quit, just tell me 'cause I've got better things to do than help Sarada Uchiha travel back in time." _It isn't exactly fun. I was just bored._ Yeah, right.

Sarada took a deep breath and flashed the young blond a grin. "Let's do it!"

He treated her with one of his signature dead pan stares, before sighing and pressing even more buttons. Sarada placed the lavaliere around her neck, watching as Boruto pressed one final button and sure enough, a white light started to illuminate, enveloping her from head to toe. Boruto did it!

The light brightened further, nearly blinding, and she strangely saw her body slowly vanishing piece by piece.

"Boruto!" She called out, hurrying to get the rest of her sentence through before the teleportation commenced. "Thanks a lot!"

"Yeah," She heard Boruto mumble just as she vanished completely. "No big deal."

* * *

She felt a total numbness overcome her the second that she vanished, as if she was turning into complete nothingness. She felt nothing, saw nothing… nothing but the pitch black darkness as she seemingly floated in outer space, no gravity to keep her feet on the ground.

And then there was light. And it felt like she was dropped from an airplane fifty feet in the air, skydiving with no parachute and no control of her fall. She screamed, fearing for her… death? What was to happen to her then? When this seemingly endless spiral of doom ended, what would become of her?

Before Sarada could decide, her body involuntarily jerked forward and at the feel of a surface underneath her buttocks, her heartbeat gradually began to stabilize. She blinked. Where was she? Upon scanning her eyes through a blur of what looked like an ordinary village, Sarada realized that she was not wearing her glasses. She hurriedly began to blindly feel around her for it… which turned out to be a bad idea as it caused her to dangle in midair covered in dozens of leaves.

She had been on a tree, Sarada realized. The pesky time machine teleported her on top of a tree branch. Just great, she thought, her cloak must have gotten caught on the branch. She carefully began to remove it, and took a deep breath before allowing herself to fall face-first to the ground.

It took her a moment to gather her strength. The ground felt harder than she anticipated and her body felt sore all over. Eventually, she forced herself to sit up at least to try to look for her glasses. She was practically blind without them, and she had to know where she was to be able to tell if the time machine had worked.

But before she could do anything at all, she found herself surprised―and then puzzled―about the raven-haired boy staring down at her with wide, shocked eyes. She returned his gaze, both confused and cautious. Who was this boy? And why was he watching her―rather blatantly, she might add.

It happened too fast.

The next thing she knew, the mysterious boy had his fingers grasping tightly around her neck. With fury evident in his features, he uttered low and dark, "who the hell are you?" And as Sarada felt fear surge deep in her bones, she hesitantly met the eyes of her assailant. Blind or not, it was unmistakable. She didn't need her glasses to tell…

She was looking into the exact same obsidian eyes that she possessed.


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N:** Wow, it's technically been over a year since I started this fanfic, but I'm not sure if you guys who read it back then noticed that I rewrote the first chapter. So, yes, if you did not know then please read the first chapter again before proceeding with this one. I've improved the writing and in addition to that, an additional scene is added at the end. An important element to the story has been inserted as well. The point of view has also changed and it is no longer solely from Sarada's.

I think that's all the things I need to relay before presenting this chapter so without further ado, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

RETROSPECT

chapter two

 _Naruto Uzumaki is a weakling._

Those were the words Sasuke Uchiha repeated to himself over and over in that far more superior head of his.

 _Naruto Uzumaki is nowhere near how strong I am._

He reassured himself as he sat on the branch of a tree and leaned on its sturdy trunk.

 _Naruto Uzumaki cannot win against me._

He grit his teeth and balled both of his hands into fists, allowing fury to take over his every being.

 _What have I been doing all this time?_

It was all his fault. He had wasted so much time on mundane affairs that he'd forgotten his _true_ mission. He was not an ordinary shinobi. He wasn't like the other shinobi of his age. He was an _avenger._ It was his goal and mission in life to find _and_ kill Itachi for what he did to his family, his clan. _His._ Not _theirs._ The bastard ceased to be his kin the very moment he had pierced his mother with a sword. Sasuke swore he would train long and hard for his revenge. But where has this all taken him? A _second-rate_ to knucklehead Naruto Uzumaki, of all people!

 _No. Naruto is_ nowhere _near how strong I am._

But had Kakashi not arrived in time to stop their little duel on the hospital rooftop, they'd have killed each other instantly. (Or Sakura, for that matter.) How could Naruto have learned that jutsu? And when? Sasuke didn't recognize the jutsu, but he could at least tell it was as powerful as the Chidori. Or perhaps surpassed it.

 _No. Naruto is_ ― _huh?_

The sound of a shrill yelp and the rustling of leaves interrupted the fury-charged thoughts of the Uchiha. Had he only imagined it? He would've easily dismissed it to be a cat, but the 'cat' simply sounded too close to human. He couldn't be wrong. His senses have hardly ever failed him.

He leapt from the branch immediately and surveyed his surroundings for anyone suspicious. The 'cat'―or should he say, the… was it a girl? Sasuke couldn't tell. From where he stood, the person looked like the Grim Reaper―cloaked in a black hood―but at the same time, far from what the Grim Reaper should be: frightening. The figure dangled from the branch of a tree a few feet ahead of Sasuke. It―for lack of knowledge of its gender―wobbled in a pathetic attempt to break free. Sasuke would have allowed himself to spare a moment to chuckle if he wasn't in such a terrible mood.

The Dumb Reaper, Sasuke decided to call it, continued to struggle for several seconds before stopping all together. Sasuke watched in curiosity as the figure carefully slipped off the cloak and fell on the cold hard ground.

And he wasn't sure but… _No. .No. It couldn't be._

… _Could it?_

Sasuke rushed closer, but halted when she seemed motionless. _It couldn't have…_ But then his agile eyes caught even its smallest movement as it slowly sat upright, its back turned to him.

And that was when he saw it.

It was unmistakable. He had been right. His eyes never could fail him and he should not have doubted himself. Right before him, this _girl_ wore the Uchiha crest on her back. An _imposter!_ Only he and Itachi were the remaining Uchiha but Itachi did not wore the crest, which was only right for the scum of a traitor that he was. Only he, Sasuke Uchiha, had the sole right to the mighty fan of red and white! No one else!

The world around Sasuke dimmed instantly. The next thing he knew, his fingers clasped her neck tight in a fit of rage.

 _How dare she impersonate an Uchiha!_

* * *

This was certainly not how Sarada envisioned she and her father's reunion. She had been fairly certain that his hands would be wrapped around her… but in a loving embrace and not a strangulation to her death like this was.

Her trembling hands reached for his wrists in a feeble attempt to make her father release his grip, tears forming on the corners of her beautiful dark orbs.

She'd recognized them instantly on the precise moment that they locked eyes. There was a photo on her mother's bedside table of her genin squad: the now Seventh Hokage, the Sixth Hokage, herself, and Sasuke. Sarada had practically memorized every bit of that photo, burned the image of her father in her brain. Every detail she remembered presented themselves right in front of her: the spiky ebony hair and the distinct obsidian eyes of the Uchiha bloodline. It was him! It was really him―her Papa―in the flesh!

Excruciating pain seeped inside of her and every second that passed made breathing more and more difficult. She was going to die. By her own father's hands. Literally. No other death could conceivably be more tragic than hers would be.

Sarada blinked away the blur from the tears welling up from her eyes and forced herself to utter breathlessly, "pa…pa… p-please… stop…"

Shutting her eyes, Sarada anticipated what was to come…

… or maybe not. She carefully peeled her eyes open, vaguely aware of the absence of fingers clasped around her neck, and found herself staring into wide-open pools of black. And for a second, she had thought it was over. But his shocked eyes slowly turned crimson and charged with every bit of anger in his being.

"What did you say?" His voice was low and dangerous.

She didn't close her eyes. Instead, she stared straight into the eyes of the boy in front of her, silently pleading and vaguely aware of the sound of chirping birds.

"Sasuke, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

It happened fast, but it was slow motion for Sarada. The sparkling blue lightning on her father's hand inching closer and closer by the second. Her father's eyes reverting to their original black color and growing wider and wider in shock. She didn't understand at first, but then she noticed a boy tackling his father to the ground.

The lightning bolt on her father's hands hit the ground on impact, making it shake visibly and leaving a large crack.

"Get off me! Hands off, you loser!" She heard her Papa screaming while he struggled to break free from the other boy's hold on him. He had him pinned on the ground by sitting on his back. The boy firmly held his arms down with his own. It was an awkward position to watch, but Sarada understood it was the only way the boy could successfully render her father unable to counter.

"What do you think you're doing, Sasuke?! Why are you hurting her?!" The boy, whose back still faced Sarada, screamed back at Sasuke.

Just then, Sarada heard quick footsteps approaching them. She turned around and there she saw her Mama and Papa's sensei, the Sixth Hokage himself, Kakashi Hatake. Following closely behind him was none other than her mother. She ran immediately to her front, holding out a protective arm before her, tightly gripping a kunai in her free hand. Sarada froze.

The Sixth peeled the boy off Sasuke. The instant he was set free, the Uchiha attempted to charge back at the boy but the Sixth was quick to grip his arms tight, pulling them toward his back. The other boy made no further step.

"Let me go, Kakashi!" Sasuke barked.

"Do any of you want to explain just _what_ is going on here?" Kakashi asked in an authoritative tone.

"I would but I don't know either, sensei." It's the other boy who decided to speak up. "I just saw Sasuke trying to hit that girl over there with Chidori!" He pointed to Sarada when he said this, and that was when Sarada saw his face for the first time. She had seen the blond hair earlier but it was only now that she saw his bright blue eyes and the whiskers on his face. It was no doubt the Seventh Hokage.

"She's an impostor! A spy! A scum in the ninja world!" Sasuke yelled these at the top of his lungs while fighting the Sixth's tight hold on his arms. His voice had gravel. It was not something Sarada would have liked to hear from him.

Her mother's younger self glanced at her then. She doubted her, Sarada could tell. Of course she would believe her future husband. But like Sarada predicted, she was kind enough to give her the benefit of the doubt. She didn't move her arm away. She was going to protect her if the situation called for it. Her display of kindness made Sarada's heart fill up with guilt. She had hurt her mother with her words and here she was, protecting her still. Sure, this was her younger self and she had not yet heard the words she said, but the spitting image made it hard to remember that fact.

Kakashi Hatake turned his head toward her, his expression unreadable. Sakura brought down her arm then, stepping aside to not block her sensei's view.

"And who would you be?" He asked calmly, his tone now polite.

It was scary, if Sarada was being honest. He switched his emotions so easily, in spite of the great contrast between them.

Sarada eyed them all carefully. She saw her father still filled with fury and immediately shifted her eyes to the Seventh, who looked just as unsure as her mother. And then back to the Sixth. Slowly, she began to speak.

"S-Sarada," she said. "Sarada… Uchiha."

Collective gasps and sounds of shock were what Sarada received in response to that. She instead turned her eyes to the ground below, not wanting to meet any of their gazes. Not especially her Papa, who had decided to resume his struggle to break loose and… kill her, probably.

"Hmmm," she heard the Sixth say. She looked up curiously and found him―contrary to what she expected―completely unfazed.

His single visible eye smiled at her. "Would you like to come meet the hokage?"

 _I already have. Two of them actually,_ Sarada thought.

* * *

The day had been a pretty busy one so far, and it had only been about ten o'clock in the morning. When the Slug Princess, Tsunade Senju arrived at the office of the hokage that morning, the last thing she had expected to hear was that certain two genins had a brawl on the rooftop of Konoha General Hospital. But the most interesting part was that at genin level, they had each used a technique powerful enough to not only _merely_ damage but to actually break a water tank. She could not believe her ears. Or perhaps she could. She had been there when the boy had taken on Kabuto Yakushi.

She had thought that that would be the end of her interesting day, until Shizune came in and told her that Kakashi Hatake was requesting to meet her urgently. She'd been patiently waiting for him to arrive ever since, passing the time by piecing little theories in her head for a reason why the only son of the White Fang of Konoha would request to see her so abruptly.

Her trail of thought was interrupted by the sound of knocks. Tsunade spun around just in time to see Shizune entering gracefully. "Kakashi Hatake is here, Lady Tsunade," she spoke matter-of-factly.

Tsunade nodded and shifted her attention to the unusual bunch stepping into her office. Naruto was first to set foot inside, his expression and demeanor strangely serious. Strange for Naruto, that was. When Tsunade thought 'Naruto', she thought 'stupid hyperactive ninja knucklehead' which was not what she was seeing in that moment. She knew right away, something was up. The girl, Sakura Haruno, followed after him looking visibly nervous. The Uchiha was next… Something was not quite right. He looked mad with fury… very much the opposite of how calm and peaceful he looked lying on the hospital bed. He was awkwardly leaning forward, his arms pulled from behind him. It was only when Tsunade saw Kakashi that things fell into place. Kakashi had been restraining him for some reason. This was far from how Team Seven looked in the genin squad photos she looked through on her first day at the office.

But just when Tsunade thought she'd seen all her guests, another girl stepped into her view. She had short dark hair, wore red thick-frame glasses, and she looked… meek, especially with her head bowed down.

Things were about to get messed up, Tsunade felt.

"And what brings the lot of you here?" She inquired curiously.

"This…" Kakashi pointed his chin toward the unfamiliar girl. "… is Sarada _Uchiha_."

Tsunade caught his emphasis on 'Uchiha'. And neither did her fast eyes miss how the Uchiha boy's face twisted in greater anger at Kakashi's words. She understood.

* * *

The Fifth Hokage requested to be alone with her. Sarada had no idea what was going to happen now. She hadn't the slightest thought of the consequences of being discovered. How would this affect the space-time continuum? Had she just dealt permanent damage to the future she knew? Sarada knew nothing but the fact that she was absolutely terrified.

"So," the hokage spoke from across the room.

Sarada slowly raised her head to meet the lady's eyes. She looked so identical to the Lady Tsunade in her future that Sarada wondered if she was capable of aging.

"The only survivors of the Uchiha Clan Massacre were the brothers Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha…" The hokage uttered matter-of-factly, her chin lazily resting at the palm of her right hand.

"Care to explain yourself?"

Sarada took a deep breath and urged herself to remain calm before she proceeded to explain her situation. She detailed using the time machine in the Konohagakure Museum and how she landed on a tree in this timeline, but is careful not to be specific about her reason for going back. She'd put it at mere 'curiosity', and the Fifth Hokage seemed to have bought it.

The hokage was silent for a few moments, in which Sarada assumed she was processing her story. Sarada patiently awaited her verdict, almost certain that she would be in enormous trouble.

"Well, say you are an Uchiha twenty years from now," She finally began. "I suppose you'd be the offspring of either Uchiha survivor. Am I wrong?"

Sarada nodded carefully.

"Which one?"

"S-Sasuke Uchiha…" Sarada responded, her voice almost trembling.

"Interesting." Tsunade remarked with what sounded like amusement. "And your mother?"

"Sakura… Haruno-Uchiha." She tasted guilt when she uttered her mother's name.

Sarada hesitantly looked up at the hokage, in time to catch her eyebrows rising up in curiosity.

"She's the one with the pink hair, right? On the same team as Naruto and the Uchiha?"

Sarada nodded and for some reason this merited her an interesting reaction from the hokage, who'd hummed a sound of amusement. She muttered something along the lines of 'I had a feeling that would happen' but it wasn't loud enough for Sarada to catch clearly. She inwardly wondered why the Fifth Hokage had not yet known her mother at this point. She concluded that it will have been later when her mother would become her apprentice.

Tsunade rose from her seat and gestured with open arms, an odd smile on her face. It wasn't one of joy or happiness. Sarada couldn't quite place it.

"Alright kid, any more tales from the future? Who's the hokage?"

Sarcasm. That was what her smile meant. The hokage was not taking her seriously. Who was she kidding, anyway? How could anyone possibly believe that she had travelled through time? Even in her future, the feat was still considered an impossibility. What more would it be twenty years in the past?

But what choice did she have now? She needed the Fifth Hokage to believe her.

And then she remembered. There was a way. But it was a risk, she understood it was, and quite a huge one it is. She didn't have a choice anymore, did she? There's no telling what would happen to her in the past if she can't prove her identity. Would they lock her up, use her for scientific experiments like a lab rat? Would she be thrown in jail to rot until her death? Worst of all, she had probably already caused so much damage to the future by staying a few minutes in the past. How much more damage would she cause by staying days, even _years_?

She had no choice.

"If… If I take you to the future… then, would you believe me?"

Sarada focused her steely stare at the woman who stood before her, showing no such hint of amusement, every bit contrasting the hokage and urging her that she was in fact as serious as she could possibly be.

"How?"

That was all that the Fifth Hokage said in return, sarcasm and amusement now absent from her expression. Sarada held her gaze for a moment more, before touching the antique-looking pendant around her neck. It was then that she finally noticed. The lavaliere was open, evidently damaged with scratches all around. But that was not the problem.

The all-important ruby red hexagonal button at its center is nowhere in sight.

Sarada felt her heart rate increasing rapidly until it was racing and her breathing was getting more shallow and shallow as seconds passed.

The lavaliere was broken. She could no longer go home.

* * *

 **A/N:** 2,200 of the words in this chapter have been ready for months, but it took a while for me to add the 600 additional words that would make the chapter ready to be concluded. School has just been busy, on top of other things regarding my hobbies and my career. So I can't really guarantee a fast update rate for this fic, but I will try my best.

Everything has already been planned from start to finish and my current estimate of the number of chapters is only **five**. That's just my estimation though and it would still depend on how much words I end up putting into certain scenes. My target is an average of 3,000 words per chapter more or less. Is this an 'okay' length for you guys? Is it too much or too little?

Also, I would like to know how I write. Is there anything confusing about my writing style? Am I too wordy, or am I not descriptive enough? What about the direction the story is going? Is my pacing too slow or too fast? Your opinion matters to me and it would help me make the fanfic as enjoyable for you all as possible, so any type of feedback is appreciated!

Lastly, please excuse any inconsistencies you might find in the tenses of verb that I use. I'm writing in the past tense but at times I forget this and slip into the present tense. If you find any of this that I have not corrected, you can let me know too!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you'll stick around for the next chapters!


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